Wednesday, 14 May 2014

Task 1 - Formative Computing for Games.

The Programmers Role;

A
programmer is a person who writes computer software, there are many names for
people in this nature of work; programmer, computer programmer, developer,
coder or software engineer. These people
will often work in primary programming languages such as C, C++, C#, Java,
Lisp, Python ect… a programmer can be a person who specialises in one area of
programming or can be a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software.

Programmers in the Games industry are very passionate when it
comes to games, whether it’s free to play on a mobile/ tablet device or it’s on
a console or computer, they’re always up for a challenge. Programmers help shape
the game using rapid development processes and maximise the games potential
using established analytics.

. The key duties of a programmer in the games industry
are to actively participate in code and feature design as without understanding
the ideas that other employees in the business are coming up with, the
programmer might not understand how to visualise problems and outcomes as
clearly as they company would like. Visualisation is a big part of how
programmers think, not in the same way an artist visualises things however they
often sit down and create small flow charts to help them get a basic idea of
the code they will start writing. Working with designers and artists can often
help a programmer with implementing desired features in which he has not come
up with, in the games industry this is often a trial and error period in which
the artists and programmers go back and forth ensuring that they are creating
exactly what they want.

Programmers are often asked to program game systems, tools
and user interfaces to certain specifications, so being able to stick
imagination and logic together, however there are loads of different
programming areas such as; Game Engine, Physics Engine, Graphics Engine, Artificial
Intelligence, Sound, Gameplay, Scripter, User Interface, Network ,Games Tools, Porting,
Technology and Generalist Programmer, each of these would still be expected to
report to a Team Lead when creating features as you as a programmer would not
have the authority to approve such items.

Programmers who work in the industry will often have a good understanding
of programming principles such as D.R.Y (Don’t repeat yourself.), K.I.S.S (Keep
it simple stupid.), or Do the simplest thing that could possibly work, these
will often make a programmer more efficient in the workplace which will make
them better in the long run. Programmers will often be willing to learn new
technologies and open minded to the changes that haven’t happened yet but will inevitably
happen. Being a programmer is an iterative
process and being open minded often helps when you know that the code you’ve
written is probably wrong; this is a skill that all programmers have acquired over
time.

Daily Duties of Computer
Programmers:

Writing software programs in a
variety of computer code languages, including C++, JavaScript, and HTML

Updating and expanding present
programs to be more current with the latest technological advancements

Utilizing code libraries as
collections of independent code lines to simplify the writing of computer
programs

Debugging codes, evaluating the
effectiveness of programs, and fixing any errors

Building computer-assisted
software engineering (CASE) resources to automate the writing of computer
codes

Computer Programmer Job Description
In most cases, computer programmers can be found working in office settings
within the computer systems design and related services industry. Some computer
programmers who are experts in a specific concentrated area may also find
employment as consultants for outside firms and travel frequently between
various work locations. Since writing code can be completed from basically
anywhere, many computer programmers also telecommute.

Overall programmers are very driven and motivated individuals
that will have strong communication abilities, good attention to detail and are
often if in the games industry are passionate about games, great team players.